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Gizmo Alexander, 1/29/97 - 2/5/07...LONG

toblerone

Well-known member
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It all started relatively innocently. We always had cats since before my husband and I were officially married. The cats lived a long time (18 and 21 years). Turns out everyone in the family but me was allergic to cats so no more of them. My older son, Grant, was allergic to dogs but my younger son, Mark, was not. He asked for a dog. We said okay but we can’t get one until your brother goes to college.

To while away the year between this agreement and when Grant went to college, Mark volunteered at a doggie day care. His responsibility was going once a week on Saturday for a few hours to play with the little dogs. (The woman who ran this place, Marsha of Pooches Palace in Watertown, Ma was incredibly generous to let him do this.) His other job while doing this was to check out different types of dogs to see what he thought would be good for our family. He came home one Saturday and said he knew what kind of dog we should get. We should get dogs like Periwinkle and Chutney. Well this was a start. We asked him to find out the breed. The next Saturday he came home and said that they were Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. In unison, my husband and I said, “Sounds expensive.”

Fast forward through the day we visited Pooches Palace and were smothered by Periwinkle, Chutney and two other cavaliers, through the search on the old Hoflin cavalier list for a breeder who would have us to March of 1997 when my husband and Mark and I went to visit puppies at Kenjockety Spaniels, owned by Vanessa Webber. They were about four weeks old and greatly resembled guinea pigs. Four weeks later we visited again and picked out or were picked out by our first Cavalier, whom we named Gizmo. His official name was Kenjockey Retro. We brought him home fours weeks after that.

Thus began our love affair with Cavaliers.

Gizmo was the greatest thing our family ever did. Really!!! And with such a good experience with him we quickly went on to get Gadget (his full brother) and Toby, an eight-year old rescue from Hearts United for Animals, a Midwest all breed rescue group. In just 1 1/2 years we had acquired three cavaliers. Toby lived to be almost 16. When he died in August 2006 we got a new puppy, Sasha, also from Vanessa.

But Gizmo was our first. His big brown eyes were so beautiful. They could convince us to do almost anything for him. He was quite opinionated about certain things. On the couch he must be on my husband’s left side. But with me it was my right side. He had an incredible love affair with the postman. He trotted along side Mark as he rollerbladed to the video store.

He was quite the gentleman. Never did he raid the trashcans. Never did he carry away underwear to all corners of the house. And he changed our lives. We now know our neighbors better because of our twice-daily walks. We exchange pleasantries with people we’ve never met before about dogs in general and cavaliers in particular. We have a wide net of Internet contacts that share our love for these dogs.

He was a little more vocal than some would have likely particularly upon leave taking and arrival at the house. And he did bark ALL the way to the vets every single time. But his voice is stilled now. Sadly he died on February 5, 2007 from complications of Mitral Valve disease. He had had his 10th birthday just the week before. He went from asymptomatic to his death in a little less than a year.

His death has left a great hole in our lives. We will miss him greatly.
 
What an absolutely beautiful tribute to Gizmo. He sounds like he was such a wonderful little guy and brought so much to your lives. I know he'll be missed...and always remembered. Rest in peace, Gizmo.
 
My sympathies ...Gizmo sounds like one special fella.
So sorry.

Nancy
Teddy and sweet, little Katydid
 
Our thoughts are with you at this very sad time, take care of yourselves.

Keep the memories of darling Gizmo close to your heart, he will be there forever.

Alison x
 
What a wonderful tribute to a beautiful darling boy. My thoughts are with you at this sad heartbreaking time :cry*ing:



:hug: :lotsaluv:
 
Margaret,

That's such a lovely and fitting tribute to darling Gizmo. He was such a loved little man and will be surely and sadly missed by you and all your family. I am so sorry to hear that he's gone.

HEAVEN'S DOGGIE DOOR
My best friend closed his eyes last night,
As his head was in my hand.
The Doctors said he was in pain,
And it was hard for him to stand.
The thoughts that scurried through my head,
As I cradled him in my arms.
Were of his younger, puppy years,
And OH...his many charms.
Today, there was no gentle nudge,
With an intense "I love you gaze",
Only a heart thats filled with tears,
Remembering our joy filled days.
But an Angel just appeared to me,
And he said, "You should cry no more,
God also loves our canine friends,
He's installed a "doggy-door"!


Run free from pain and find the bunnies to play with Gizmo. Your family will miss you :( :flwr: xxxxx
 
So sorry

So sorry to hear about Gizmo, it sounds like he was an amazing little man, you must be heart broken, i had tears in my eyes reading about him
 
So sorry to hear about Gizmo I had been watching about him on another site I know how hard it is thinking of you all----Aileen
 
Wow. What a tribute. Isn't it amazing what these little guys do to our lives? :flwr:
 
I'm sorry for your loss. Gizmo sounds like a special guy and he will always be with you. *ng*l
 
What a lovely fellow dear Gizmo was, I could almost imagine him sitting next to you - on the right side of course. I am so very sorry for your loss, Margaret. It is never easy to lose a love but what a wonderful way to have felt about another living creature. You honored him so well with your story. I'll send up a prayer that Gizmo finds Beatrice so they can romp in the flowers together.

JaneB
 
Margaret: Thanks for sharing your story. Take comfort in Gadget and Sasha and your wonderful memories of Gizmo and Toby. You and your family are blessed to have had them in your life and they to have found you.
 
Gizmo was a handsome gentleman with such a warm face. I am so sorry for the loss of your dear companion and family member. Your tribute to him was beautiful.
J.
 
Dear Margaret and Family,

I read with with appreciation and sadness the story of Gizmo, what he meant to your family and how he changed your lives forever. I can only imagine the sadness this loss brings to you and your family. I am very sorry. Thank you for sharing Gizmo's story.

God bless you all,
Joanne
 
Wow... that just made me cry... and not good I just put mascara on..
That was beautiful... Your story of Gizmo was similar in many ways to my story with Jake...
It's amazing how you can bring home this tiny creature and from that day on everything has changed, they open your hearts and souls to another form of love, something so pure and warming. And once they pass onto the next world they leave such a gap that will never be replaced. We miss them so dearly and it hurts so much, and although life without them will never be the same, thankgod they came into our lives to begin with.
Rest in peace Gizmo, what an amazing dog you must have been.
Lots of Love
Soma
 
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